In case anyone is in the market for a new monitor, I've just placed an order for a PCBank PB2700 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LED backlight monitor from Ebay, for US$298.70, which works out to be about NZ$400 including shipping.

There has been a flood of these displays over the last few months from a variety of manufacturers - the bottom line is they all have the same LG LM270WQ1 IPS panel as the Apple Cinema Display (http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MC007) but at <25% of the cost. The main differences are that the panels are "A-" grade rather than Apple's "A+" (so there is some possibility of stuck/dead pixels and/or dust behind the panel, although they still comply with ISO 13406-2 class II), and the available inputs are limited to a single DVI-D dual-link connector.

There's a fair amount of discussion about these monitors at overclock.net (and a separate discussion on the panel I've ordered here).

Potentially in the too good to be true camp, but I'm quietly optimistic!

KevinL: In case anyone is in the market for a new monitor, I've just placed an order for a PCBank PB2700 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LED backlight monitor from Ebay, for US$298.70, which works out to be about NZ$400 including shipping.

There has been a flood of these displays over the last few months from a variety of manufacturers - the bottom line is they all have the same LG LM270WQ1 IPS panel as the Apple Cinema Display (http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MC007) but at <25% of the cost. The main differences are that the panels are "A-" grade rather than Apple's "A+" (so there is some possibility of stuck/dead pixels and/or dust behind the panel, although they still comply with ISO 13406-2 class II), and the available inputs are limited to a single DVI-D dual-link connector.

There's a fair amount of discussion about these monitors at overclock.net (and a separate discussion on the panel I've ordered here).

Potentially in the too good to be true camp, but I'm quietly optimistic!

Brilliant price! Seems a pity it doesn’t have HDMI input. I ve placed an order for a HP zr2440w 24” for $574 two days ago from i3 NZ. BTW KevinL where did you get IPS panel grade info?

Just brought the real deal in the form of a 27" Dell Ultrasharp (same LG panel as the iMac). 1260x1440 wow! This thing is fantastic. If you go for anything above 24" I would definitely recommend the higher resolution - I brought a 1080p 27" 4 weeks ago and sold it to buy this one.

When you live your life on Twitter and Facebook, and are only friends with like minded people on Twitter and Facebook, you are not living in the real world. You are living in a narcissistic echo chamber.

My thoughts are my own and are in no way representative of my employer.

KevinL: In case anyone is in the market for a new monitor, I've just placed an order for a PCBank PB2700 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LED backlight monitor from Ebay, for US$298.70, which works out to be about NZ$400 including shipping.

There has been a flood of these displays over the last few months from a variety of manufacturers - the bottom line is they all have the same LG LM270WQ1 IPS panel as the Apple Cinema Display (http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MC007) but at <25% of the cost. The main differences are that the panels are "A-" grade rather than Apple's "A+" (so there is some possibility of stuck/dead pixels and/or dust behind the panel, although they still comply with ISO 13406-2 class II), and the available inputs are limited to a single DVI-D dual-link connector.

There's a fair amount of discussion about these monitors at overclock.net (and a separate discussion on the panel I've ordered here).

Potentially in the too good to be true camp, but I'm quietly optimistic!

The other differences (and potential advantages) over the Dell Ultrasharp panel is that they don't have an anti-glare coating (which allegedly affects clarity), and they have an LED backlight rather than the Dell's CCFL.

Will update the thread when it arrives (by all reports should be by early next week).

KevinL: In case anyone is in the market for a new monitor, I've just placed an order for a PCBank PB2700 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LED backlight monitor from Ebay, for US$298.70, which works out to be about NZ$400 including shipping.

There has been a flood of these displays over the last few months from a variety of manufacturers - the bottom line is they all have the same LG LM270WQ1 IPS panel as the Apple Cinema Display (http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MC007) but at <25% of the cost. The main differences are that the panels are "A-" grade rather than Apple's "A+" (so there is some possibility of stuck/dead pixels and/or dust behind the panel, although they still comply with ISO 13406-2 class II), and the available inputs are limited to a single DVI-D dual-link connector.

There's a fair amount of discussion about these monitors at overclock.net (and a separate discussion on the panel I've ordered here).

Potentially in the too good to be true camp, but I'm quietly optimistic!

When you live your life on Twitter and Facebook, and are only friends with like minded people on Twitter and Facebook, you are not living in the real world. You are living in a narcissistic echo chamber.

My thoughts are my own and are in no way representative of my employer.

KevinL: In case anyone is in the market for a new monitor, I've just placed an order for a PCBank PB2700 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS LED backlight monitor from Ebay, for US$298.70, which works out to be about NZ$400 including shipping.

There has been a flood of these displays over the last few months from a variety of manufacturers - the bottom line is they all have the same LG?LM270WQ1 IPS panel as the Apple Cinema Display (http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MC007) but at <25% of the cost. ?The main differences are that the panels are "A-" grade rather than Apple's "A+" (so there is some possibility of stuck/dead pixels and/or dust behind the panel, although they still comply with ISO 13406-2 class II), and the available inputs are limited to a single DVI-D dual-link connector.

There's a fair amount of discussion about these monitors at overclock.net?(and a separate discussion on the panel I've ordered here).

Potentially in the too good to be true camp, but I'm quietly optimistic!

Will you get stung with import duties and GST, as I thought that kicked in when shipping + item are about that sort of value?They look alright, but the stand looks poor, and a pity they have plastered the no name brand on the front. I wonder if it has a universal mount on the back when you can screw on your own stand.

mattwnz: Will you get stung with import duties and GST, as I thought that kicked in when shipping + item are about that sort of value? They look alright, but the stand looks poor, and a pity they have plastered the no name brand on the front. I wonder if it has a universal mount on the back when you can screw on your own stand.

GST will depend largely on shipping method - most of these seem to be sent via EMS, so it depends on whether they are picked up by customs or not. From memory the cutoff (i.e. the point at which they don't bother collecting GST) is ~NZ$400 anyway...

Yes, the stand looks particularly crappy - but you get what you pay for! There's a 100mm VESA mount on the back. Apparently the PCBank logo is removable with sunscreen and a bit of elbow grease.

Standard power supply is 240V, some of them are shipping with a 110-240v power supply as well. The power plug provided is for South Korea so you will need an adapter (or a standard IEC power cable with a NZ plug)